Russian national Alexander Vinnik, exchanged for American teacher Marc Fogel, has arrived in Moscow. Footage of his return was published by TASS.
Vinnik was transported to Vnukovo Airport on a business jet bearing U.S. Air Force insignia. According to him, his escorts did not inform him of the flight’s purpose and responded to all inquiries with ignorance.
Vinnik was detained in Greece in the summer of 2017 on suspicion of connections with the BTC-e exchange and money laundering. In 2020, he was extradited to France, where he was later sentenced to five years in prison and fined €100,000. Charges of extortion and creating the Locky malware were dropped.
In August 2022, Vinnik was taken to the United States, where he faced a potential 55-year prison sentence. The court denied his release on bail.
In May 2024, the Russian pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money through a trading platform. He was held accountable for losses amounting to at least $121 million. In his homeland, Vinnik also faced fraud charges.
Marc Fogel, a former U.S. embassy employee, was arrested in August 2021 at Sheremetyevo Airport (Moscow) for drug smuggling. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
In an interview with RIA Novosti, Vinnik noted that the special flight made a refueling stop in Poland.
He expressed gratitude for his release to Russian President Vladimir Putin, diplomats, special services, lawyers, and especially his family, whom he has already met.
“I am already home, with my family. I still can’t believe it,” Vinnik concluded.
Back in March, a verdict in the case of WEX’s ‘red admin’ Alexey Bilyuchenko (Ivanov) came into force in Russia. Alongside Vinnik, as well as Belarusian and Cypriot citizen Alexander Klimenko, he owned the BTC-e exchange from 2011 to July 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.